Roger Ivester: Observer from North Carolina

Many amateurs consider NGC 6118, also known as “The Blinking Galaxy” to be the most difficult object in the entire Herschel 400 list.

I remember first reading about this galaxy almost 30 or more years ago in an astronomy publication, possibly the Astronomical League, Reflector Magazine. This article concerned an amateur who was just beginning his quest to see the entire list, and “as bad luck would have it” chose NGC 6118 as his first object. This galaxy is known as “The Blinking Galaxy” due to it seemingly appearing and then vanishing, similar to a few planetary nebulae. So, after consulting with other amateurs, he was told that NGC 6118 was extremely faint and was possibly the most difficult object in the entire Herschel 400 list.

I was working on the Herschel’s at the time (1994-1995) while reading this article, but had not attempted to locate and observe this galaxy. I had completed about 150 or more of the objects, but due to light pollution and a very poor southern view was forced to cancel my efforts.

However, since that time, I’ve just not been able to forget about galaxy NGC 6118 and the article, concerning its difficulty.

So, on August 5, 2023, shortly after sunset, the skies looked pretty good. The humidity was very high at 91%, which in-part caused very poor transparency. And I was also having to look over the town of Boiling Springs, with lots of light pollution. It was also a bit late in the year, as the galaxy was already too far to the west.

March, April and May 2024

I also attempted two very early morning observing sessions in March and April of 2024, from my suburban backyard, but again without success. A dark site is really needed to observe any low-surface-brightness galaxy, especially one as dim and faint as NGC 6118.

However, traveling to a dark-site has been over for me now for many years. The disassembly of a heavy equatorial mount and handling a large solid-tube Newtonian, loading, driving, unloading, reassembly, and then having to do it all again, became just too much. I will continue to do my best from the backyard.

Many years ago, I assembled light-block system, made of heavy-duty automotive-marine fabric. This simple, but effective structure has helped me on many occasions over the years to see difficult and faint deep-sky objects. The light-block system is especially helpful in some areas of the southern sky, where light pollution is significant. It’s easy to set up and take down. When the fabric is removed and folded for storage, the steel post and plastic-coated wires remain and are hardly noticeable.

I attribute my ability to finally see NGC 6118 was due to blocking a very bright LED carport light less than 1/8 mile away. This light was shining directly toward my backyard, and brightening up the area of my telescope and observing location significantly.

Saturday morning; May 11th 2024 @ 1:00 AM, with a 5.0 NELM overhead, but far less in the sky near NGC 6118, due to overlooking the town of Boiling Springs.

With a bit of difficulty and after almost an hour of careful observing, I was finally able to see the galaxy. My portable “make-shift” observatory was the answer to finally seeing this faint and difficult object from my suburban backyard.

I really don’t think this galaxy would be that difficult from a dark-site, and with my 10-inch Newtonian. However, as I’ve mentioned previously, my days of traveling with a telescope have been over for a few years now. I just love the convenience of my backyard and seeing a galaxy this faint, proves that a suburban backyard can still allow effective deep-sky observing.

Description: A tiny and subtle brighter middle, which resembles that of a planetary nebula. And like so many planetary nebulae, when using direct vision, vanishes or winks out. I now know why NGC 6118 is known as “The Blinking Galaxy.” The galaxy has a very faint and diffuse halo with mottling, which is oriented NE-SW.

Roger Ivester: Observer from North Carolina

Telescope: 10-Inch f/4.5 EQ Newtonian

Sketch Magnification: 142x 

FOV: 0.46

NELM: 4.8 

So during the months of October and November 2023, three observing sessions and more than six-hours at the eyepiece, I was finally successful in seeing this galaxy.

So by own authority as an amateur astronomer, which is no authority, I’m naming this galaxy: “The Invisible Galaxy.” 

A difficult and very faint low-surface brightness galaxy, using my 10-inch Newtonian. After three nights with poor transparency, and more than six-hours of observing I was finally about to make my final sketch, as following.  

The first thing to look for is a triangle of three mag. 9 stars, with the galaxy being just to the N. 

The galaxy appears as a mere brightening in the sky, but upon careful observing over the three nights, the glow of the galaxy halo became enlarged, and elongated NNW-SSE. 

There is an extremely faint, and very subtle brightening in the middle. A faint star is visible near the center and a mag. 13 star is fairly easy to see just to the W.  

In the following sketch, note the pair of faint and close double stars in the NW edge of the field. 

AUGUST 2010 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – NGC-188 

 

This is the 8th year anniversary edition of the Observer’s Challenge, which started out as a three month trial.  Thanks to all who have participated and made this….the 96th consecutive monthly report possible.  The following link is the anniversary report.  Enjoy!

FEBRUARY 2017 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – WINTER ALBIREO

February Observers Challenge: h3945/The Winter Albireo

Despite the fact that thousands of double and multiple stars lie within reach of even the smallest of telescopes, and are visible on all but the worst of nights even in light-polluted skies, they are the most neglected of all deep-sky objects. (Incidentally, these tinted jewels are deep-sky objects, lying as they do beyond the solar system.) Were I to pick one object that epitomizes an overlooked and neglected wonder of the skies, it would surely be this lovely combo. Its ruddy-orange and greenish-blue components, while over a magnitude fainter than its namesake’s, seem more intensely hued to some observers including myself. Indeed, the primary even appears a fiery-red at times (apparently depending on atmospheric conditions). This pair is striking even in a 2-inch glass at 25x and is absolutely superb in a 6-inch reflector at 50x. So why the neglect? Overshadowed by radiant Sirius to its northwest may be one reason. But I suspect that the real cause is its unusual designation. Having neither a Bayer Greek-letter or Flamsteed number on atlases — nor even a Struve or other obvious double star designation — causes most observers to ignore it. The “h” prefix indicates that it’s one of the discoveries of Sir John Herschel, William’s famous son. (Sir William himself discovered some 800 double and multiple stars in addition to the more than 2,000 clusters and nebulae for which he is best known.) In any case, this Albireo clone certainly deserves to be on every showpiece list!    

 Jim Mullaney, 

Supplemental information as provided by Sue French:

“This double also carries the moniker 145 G Canis
Majoris, though the designation is often
incorrectly listed without the G, which
indicates it’s from the 1879 Uranometria
Argentina by Benjamin Apthrop Gould.”  Sue French 

The following photo of the Winter Albireo by Mario Motta of Massachusetts:

Observing notes by Sue French from New York:

The lovely double star h3945 lies about
halfway along and 38′ west of a line connecting
NGC 2367 and Tau. (This double
also carries the moniker 145 G Canis
Majoris, though the designation is often
incorrectly listed without the G, which
indicates it’s from the 1879 Uranometria
Argentina by Benjamin Apthrop Gould.)
It’s the brightest star in the area and
sports 5.0- and 5.8-magnitude components
26″ apart. Although striking in
appearance, this is only an optical pair
whose unrelated stars lie along the same
line of sight. Astronomy author James
Mullaney dubbed this duo the Winter
Albireo for its resemblance to the famous
gold and blue double in Cygnus. In a
small scope, they seem gold and white to
me.   Sue French

Observing notes by Debbie Ivester from North Carolina: 

Date: February 25, 2017
Observer: Debbie Ivester
Object: Double Star h3945; Winter Albireo
Date: February 25, 2017
Seeing: Excellent
Telescope: 6-inch f/6 reflector
Magnification: 73x

A beautiful double star, and definitely the most color I’ve ever seen through a telescope. I saw the primary as yellow and the companion as a vivid blue. My color perception was not arbitrary. I looked at this double several times over a thirty minute period, and each time, I saw the same colors. It was very enjoyable to see this most colorful pair.   Debbie Ivester

Observing notes by Roger Ivester from North Carolina:

Object: h3945 Double Star in Canis Major – 145 Canis Majoris

This wide and colorful double star is known as the “Winter Albireo” a name coined by author and astronomy lecturer, James Mullaney. The component magnitudes are 5.0 and 5.8 with a wide separation of 26 arcseconds. This double is easy to observe even in the smallest of telescopes. I was able to observe this beautiful double with a 76 mm f/4 reflector, but with subdued colors, as compared to larger telescopes. The following are my notes using three different telescopes:

Date: March 2016
Telescope: 102 mm refractor
Magnification: 82x
Colors: Yellow/blue

Date: February 25, 2017
Telescope: 6-inch f/6 reflector
Magnification: 73x
Primary: Deep Yellow/Aqua

Date: February 13, 2017
Telescope: 76 mm f/4 reflector
Eyepiece: 12.5 mm + 2.8x Barlow
Magnification: 67x
Colors: Yellowish/pale blue

Observing notes by Steve Clougherty from Massachusetts:

A few of us die hard observers finally got around to checking out h3945 last night using a 25 inch Dobsonian in the Ed Knight Observatory in Westford at the ATMoB clubhouse. Despite only fair seeing, the colors were striking!

Gold and pale Blue; best at low magnification using a 13 mm eyepiece for a magnification of 131x. As always, the colors are more pronounced when slightly defocusing the double.  

Observing notes by Gus Johnson from Maryland

In April, 1975 I observed h3945, a double star in Canis Major using a 6-inch reflector at 59X. It was very similar to the summer Albireo, in Cygnus. Beautiful, yellow primary and blue companion. I easily resolved it with my 10X40 finder. In October, 1980, I observed it with a 4.25-inch Newtonian at 28X. It displayed exquisite colors! Yellow and Blue

Notes from Peter Bealo from New Hampshire: 

As clouds were rolling in from the south at 7:20 PM EST on 2/26/2017 I took a few minutes to observe h3945 with my 80mm f6 apochromatic refractor.

It is indeed a pretty double. Easily split at even 20X, probably would have been no problem with 14 X 70 binoculars, but didn’t have them handy.

With a 9mm eyepiece, the primary appeared yellow with more intense color than the companion. The companion or secondary star was a bluish-aqua. When I switched to a 24mm, the companion color intensity was more blue. Possibly very subjective, but obvious to me!   Peter Bealo

Observing notes by Mike McCabe from Massachusetts:

I was first introduced to these stars a few years ago through an article in Sky and Telescope written by James Mullaney. He called the targets on his list the Top 10 Neglected Deep Sky Wonders and over the ensuing years, I’ve found most of them to be very attractive indeed.

Setting down at the scope about an hour after dinner, I was once again presented with this attractive pair in the eyepiece, and they really did look like the Albireo pair that we’re all very familiar with.

Depending on the aperture of the scope I’m using at the time, I see the colors as pale yellow and pale blue, with the saturation appearing deeper in smaller instruments. Comparatively, the color saturation might be just slightly less than that of the real Albireo, but part of that is likely due to the poor seeing down below 20° off the horizon.

Observing notes by Craig Sandler from Massachusetts: 

Telescope:  8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain 

Eyepiece:  24 mm 

Tallahassee, FL
Date:  Jan. 24, 2017
Seeing:  Good 
Transparency:  Good
NELM:  6.0

First, some nomenclature. I first found this beautiful object tooling around with my GoTo in the hand control’s “Constellation” menu item, which will bring up notable objects (NGC, IC, Messier and 2x stars) in a given constellation. Under “Double Stars” for CanMajor, the SE8 database gave the designation “CanMaj 145,” so I’ll always think of it that way. Many prefer the Herschel designation, h3945. And Sue French points out the definitive designation is Canis Majoris G 145, “which indicates it’s from the 1879 Uranometria Argentina by Benjamin Apthrop Gould.”

In any event, I was stunned when it came into view in Petersham, MA right at the beginning of winter/end of fall. For my report, I’m using an observation in January from Florida – the first apparition was when the double star was so low it (and the Trapezium) was so low it was boiling in the atomosphere – quite beautifully, I must say. Anyhow, in January the object was high in the southern sky with a stable sky and was beautiful. I think of it as being the state colors of Massachusetts, plus some orange (for the primary) and some purple (for the secondary). I did my usual (sadly) ballpoint pen sketch, because that night I had limited time and a long agenda. Then on Cape Cod in February, I tried a color sketch just for fun. I was not too pleased with the result, but the process is interesting and pleasing. Once I have observed all the Messiers (two to go, saving M56 for Cherry Springs!) and the “Covington 200” (“Celestial Objects for Modern Telescopes”), I believe I’ll be ready to slooow dooown and give my sketches the practice they deserve. C.S. to all!    Craig Sandler 

Observing notes by Fred Rayworth from Las Vegas:

I saw one bright orange star and the other was maybe blue at first. It was hard to tell because seeing was bad. The main star, the brighter one was orange and looked much brighter than the other one, even though the mags. weren’t all that much different. Once in a while, when things settled down for a split second, the dimmer companion’s color slipped through and the color, a tint of aqua came through, reminding me just a bit of Uranus or Neptune.

Observing notes by Richard Nugent from Massachusetts:

I had never before observed h3945 so, thanks for the February challenge. What a beautiful double star! I have been observing it over the last month through telescopes ranging from my 10-inch,  Joe Henry’s 16-inch, Steve Clougherty’s 18-inch and my 20-inch scope.

I saw the stars as burnt orange and pale blue. The companion blue star’s color seemed muted through the 20-inch, but was more pronounced with the 9-inch aperture mask in place. My favorite view came last Sunday evening through the 10-inch at 50x and good seeing. The colors were quite dazzling! I’ll add this to my list of star party objects…h3945 offers the “Wow!” we always hope for. Thanks again!   Richard Nugent

Observing notes by Chris Elledge from Massachusetts: 

I was able to split h3945 with 15×70 binoculars tonight (February27th) after my difficulty yesterday with the stars low on the horizon and my not wearing contacts. With the stars higher in the sky and my astigmatism corrected, it wasn’t difficult thanks to their distinct colors. I would describe the primary to be orange and the companion pale blue.   Chris Elledge

Observing notes by Sharon Mullaney from Delaware: 

Date:  February 20, 2017
Observer:  Sharon Mullaney
Object:  Double Star h3945
Seeing:  Very Good
Telescope: 5-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain
Magnification:  50x

A stunning double star – brilliant in color. I saw the primary as bright yellow and the companion as lavender blue. The companion definitely had a purplish hue,
even after checking back in on this double a few times over the next hour. It was a great night to observe!   Sharon Mullaney

Observing notes by John Goss from Virginia:

The skies in southwest Virginia were near perfect last night. So, not wanting to waste such a rare opportunity, I tried my luck with a few objects, primarily h 3945. My equipment was an 8-inch reflector f/4 reflector and the eyepiece was a 24 mm, giving 32 x. It was easy to find as it is a straight shot from epsilon through delta Canis Majoris. The brighter component appeared orange-gold. The other one was what I would call a “Carolina Blue.” UNC fans know the shade well.

Yes, h 3945 should be on anyone’s top ten multiple star list. It is well worth any observer’s time, even if he or she doesn’t particularly fancy double stars.

John Jardine Goss
Astronomical League President
http://www.astroleague.org

Observing notes by Glenn Chaple from Massachusetts:

I just returned inside after having made a few small-scope observations of h3945. I studied this beautiful pair with a 60mm f/11 refractor and a 114mm f/8 reflector. Finding h3945 was a simple matter of pointing each scope at an area defined by a line traced from omicron-1 CMa through omicron-2 CMa and extended an equal distance beyond. Experimenting with different eyepieces, I found that h3945 was best split (not too close, not too widely separated) by magnifications between 35X and 50X. The golden yellow color of the primary was obvious in the 60mm scope; the bluish hue of the companion wasn’t as apparent. The colors were more vivid in the reflector, with the primary sporting a rich golden-yellow color, the secondary a soft blue tint. This is definitely a showpiece double!   Glenn Chaple

Observing notes by Joseph Rothchild from Massachusetts:

I observed the Winter Albireo tonight with a 6″ f/5 reflector at 53x. The primary appeared copper and the secondary a pale blue.   Joseph Rothchild 

Observing notes by Sameer S. Bharadwaj from Massachusetts: 

I used my 60mm refractor at 30x and then barlowed it to 84x.

Not difficult to find using Sirius, Adhara and Wezen. About the same distance on the other side of Wezen as Adhara. Was at about 24 degrees altitude when I saw it between 7:30 and 8 pm local EST.

Could clearly see a warm orange and cyan blue well separated. The colors are indeed pretty and the contrast is good.   Sameer S. Bharadwaj 

The Observer’s Challenge complete report:  Click on the following link:  JULY 2016 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – M-092

The following write-up and sketch by Jaakko Saloranta of Finland, one of the most talented and gifted visual observer’s in the world today.  Roger Ivester 

Messier 92

The baby brother of Messier 13. Brightest star in the cluster is magnitude 12.1 so it is fairly easy object to resolve. However, it is a difficult naked eye object: barely visible with optimal averted vision at an altitude of 57 degrees. Easily visible with a 8×30 binoculars as a non-stellar smudge.

Forms a triangle with two 10th magnitude stars. Partial resolution is achieved – only a handful of stars visible – with a 3 inch refractor @ 133x (23′). With a 4.5 inch SkyQuest XT @ 152x (20′) M92 appears as fairly well resolved, with a few dozen stars visible. Bright core, might appear slightly elliptical but is probably just an illusion caused by unresolved stars NW of the nucleus.

Messier 92 contains a little known small feature nicknamed “Trouvelot’s Hook” (named after 19th century French astronomer Étienne Léopold Trouvelot) . It is a hook-shaped chain of stars with dark bays at both sides. The feature is visible in two separate sketches made by Trouvelot. The first one is from 1874 and the second from 1877. Both sketches of M92 are made from Harvard College Observatory.

Having seen Roger Ivester’s notes on M92, it is obvious that Roger has noted – at least a part of – “Trouvelot’s hook”. He described it as “a faint chain of four stars follows the flattened edge”. This is part of the very same chain sketched by Trouvelot! I personally could not make out the dark lane sketched by Roger. I only saw a couple of bright stars just E of the cluster’s core.

Pencil Sketch By Jaakko Saloranta of Finland:

The following sketches by French Astronomer, Trouvel0t. The first one was made in 1874 and the second 1877, both from the Harvard College Observatory.

Below:  Sketch by Trouvelot in 1877

 

The following information and pencil sketch by the writer.  RI 

M92 – NGC 6341 – Globular Cluster in Hercules:  Date: May 27, 2016

Telescope: 10-inch f/4.5 Equatorial Reflector

Eyepiece: 11 mm – Also Other Observations With The Employ Of a 2.0x Barlow
Magnifications: 104x and 208x intermittently

Bright with an intense round core and a granular texture at 104x. When increasing the magnification to 208x, excellent resolution of stars in the outer regions and in the halo, with many outliers.

The overall shape has a subtle N-S elongation. The NNE-WSW edge is flat, which is one of the more noticeable and recognizable features of the cluster. When using averted vision a faint chain of four stars follows the flattened edge. These stars were not visible on two of the three nights of observations, and appeared intermittent or not constant.

The following is a pencil sketch using a 5 x 8 blank notecard, with the colors inverted using a scanner.  Please note the faint star chain on the eastern side of the cluster, on both my sketch and Jim Dire’s image.  It was extremely difficult for me, requiring averted vision, and could only see intermittently on the third night of observations.

Roger Ivester 

M92:  The following image and text by James Dire of Hawaii

James Dire, Ph.D.

M92 is the middle in size and brightness of three globular cluster located in the constellation Hercules. The brightest and largest is M13 while the smallest in our sky is NGC6229. All three globular clusters can be spied with an 8-inch or larger telescope.

Globular clusters are highly compact groupings of tens of thousands to millions of stars. There are approximately 150 of these clusters forming a spherical halo around our Milky Way galaxy. Globular clusters are also known to exist in other galaxies. The Andromeda galaxy probably has 2-3 times as many as the Milky Way.

M13 is the brightest globular cluster visible in the northern hemisphere and the third brightest visible from Earth. At magnitude 5.8, has a diameter of 25 arc minutes, nearly as large as the Moon. In comparison, at magnitude 6.4 M92 is roughly half as bright. It spans 15 arc minutes. Although both appear in Charles Messier’s famous catalog, he did not discover either of them. Edmond Halley discovered M13 in the year 1715 and Johann Bode discovered M92 in 1777.

M92 is found six and one-third degrees north of Pi Herculis, the northeastern-most star in the Keystone. Like M13, M92 can easily be spied in 50mm binoculars or finder scopes. Many stars can be resolved in both clusters using telescopes. Larger apertures will reveal more individual stars. I recommend eyepieces that yield 100x, or higher if the seeing is steady.

At magnitude 9.4, NGC6229 is quite a bit more challenging to find than M92. NGC6229 is located just north of the center of Hercules’ club, or 11 degrees north of M13. The easiest way to find it is to center the 5th magnitude star 42 Herculis in the eyepiece and hop two degrees to the southeast. William Herschel discovered NGC6229 in 1787. He was also the first to resolve stars in M92 six years later.

My image of M92 was taken with a 10-inch f/6 Newtonian with a Paracorr II coma corrector yielding a 1753mm focal length. The scope was atop a Paramount ME German equatorial mount and the image was taken with an SBIG ST-2000XCM CCD camera. The exposure was 20 minutes. The brightest star in the field of view, left (east) of the cluster, is HD156821 shining at magnitude 9.76. The faint star to the left of this is a 16.1 magnitude star. The yellow orange star on the northeast side of the cluster is HD156873, magnitude 9.98. The third brightest star in the field, to the lower right of the cluster shines at magnitude 10.9. None of these stars are members of M92.   James Dire 

Observers Challenge report:  MAY 2014 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – NGC- 4284 – 4290

10-inch reflector from my moderately light polluted backyard with a 5.2 NELM. It was an especially good night with excellent transparency and seeing. 

M40, a pair of 10th magnitude stars, also known as Winnecke 4 is very easy with a wide separation of about 50 seconds of arc. The pair is oriented mostly east-west and both appear as whitish-yellow in color.

Two faint galaxies are located very close to M40.  All three objects (M40, NGC 4284 and NGC 4290) are located within a 1/2º field-of-view.  

I first observed this galaxy pair on March 31, 1994 with visual notes, and many times afterwards, however, it would be February 2000, before I would make my first pencil sketch.  

Just to the west of double star, M40, lies faint galaxy NGC 4290 @ mag. (12.6 and sfc. br. 14.1) elongated NNE-WSW.  A very subtle brightness could be seen in the central region. 

In the “Messier Album” by Mallas and Kreimer:   Expert visual observer “the late” John Mallas, could not see NGC 4290, using a 4-inch f/15 Unitron Refractor.  

Very close and to the west of NGC 4290 is very faint galaxy NGC 4284 mag. (sfc. 14.7) 

Averted vision was required with the 10-inch to see NGC 4284…appearing as a faint, mostly round blur.   Roger Ivester

10-inch f/4.5 Newtonian reflector and 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain test comparison:   

During a previous observation from the same location and in a side-by-side comparison with the 10-inch reflector, NGC 4284 could be seen, but only with averted vision.  

However, this galaxy (NGC 4284) was not visible in an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.

The following sketch was made using a 10-inch reflector @ 142x, pencil and a blank 5 x 8 notecard with the colors inverted using a scanner. 

Sketch:  Very faint galaxy, NGC 4284 is on the western edge and makes a triangle with two faint stars.  Brighter galaxy, NGC 4290 is just to the east from NGC 4284.   Roger Ivester

The following image by Jeff Schilling from Kingwood, Texas (2020)   

8-inch Newtonian reflector.  Orientation of the following image.  Double star M40 is the east, and NGC 4284 is toward the west. I took around 30 subs at 60 seconds each on each R,G,B filter back in February.  Camera: ZWO ASI 1600 mm    

Observing notes and technical information as following by Sue French:  

Our next object is M40, a double star near Delta (d) Ursae Majoris or Megrez.  Oddly, M40 was once considered a non-existent Messier object.  In his 1784 catalogue, Charles Messier described his 40th object as: “Two stars very close to one another and very small, placed at the root of the great Bear’s tail.”  Precessing Messier’s coordinates to equinox 2000 takes us right to such a star pair.  Messier noted this double while searching for a “nebulous star” reported by Johannes Hevelius.  Messier assumed that Hevelius mistook these two stars for a nebula, but the latter was actually referring to a different pair of stars – also without nebulosity.

 To locate M40, start at Megrez and hop 1.1º northeast to 5.5-magnitude 70 Ursae Majoris.  Continue that line for ¼º to arrive at M40.  My 4.1-inch scope at 28´ reveals an east-west pair of 10th-magnitude stars, with the western one slightly brighter.  Through my 10-inch scope, I see the primary as yellow-orange and its companion as yellow-white.  Two galaxies share the field at 118´.  NGC 4290 is a small northeast-southwest oval, and NGC 4284 is a tiny faint spot forming a 1½’ triangle with two 13th-magnitude stars.  The galaxies are about 140 and 190 million light-years away.  Although the distances to its stars are poorly known, M40 is probably an optical (unrelated) pair.

 Independently discovered in 1863 by the German astronomer Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke, M40 carries the double star designation Winnecke 4.  Winnecke is also the original discoverer of eight NGC objects, and ten comets bear his name.  Periodic Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke is the parent comet supplying the debris for the June Boötids, a highly unpredictable meteor shower with peak rates ranging from 0 to 100 meteors per hour.    Sue French 

 

 

To read the full report:  Click on the following link.

APRIL 2014 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – NGC-3893-3896

 

The Cocoon Nebula has been a difficult object for me.  I’ve tried many times over the years, but without success.  My location has always been from my moderately light polluted backyard, using a 10-inch reflector.  On the night of November 8th 2013, I was finally able to see the nebula and make the following sketch.   I used a magnification of 114x, however, the nebulosity would catch my eye a bit easier when using 57x.  A UHC filter was essential to see this faint and difficult object.  

To read the entire Observers Challenge, please click on the following link: OCTOBER 2013 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – IC-5146

Using a 76mm (3-inch reflector) at 13x with a 3º field of view:  

I could see both NGC 1502 and most of Kemble’s Cascade, a bright chain of stars cascading from the NW toward the cluster.   At this low power, NGC 1502 appears as a faint patch with several bright stars noted with a triangular shape. 

When increasing the magnification to 70x, I could count 8-10 stars, and double star Struve 485 was very easy.  The central region of the cluster appears a bit hazy due to faint stars in the background, too faint to be resolved with the small scope.   Roger 

 

JANUARY 2012 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – NGC-1502